Visitor Statistics
Roswell

Park Fee

Roswell UFO Museum
$5.00 Adult
$2.00 Age 5-15
$3.00 Military/Seniors

Fees subject to change without notice.

Weather

It's very hot here in June, July, and August with average high temperatures well into the 90s. Other parts of the year are nicer with more temperate degrees during the day, although it can still be hot. It rains more in those summer months, too, than in spring and fall.

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The Roswell Incident

Odd. Unique. Different. That is at best what you can state about the history of the Roswell Incident. The truth may be out there, as Chris Carter would note in the tagline for his series X-Files. But is this history, truth, or fiction? To be honest, we don't know. But the incident that occurred at Roswell, New Mexico has confounded more than a few historians, science fiction fanatics, government conspiracy theorists, and life outside our galaxy space folks, plus some government officials, since it occured on July 7, 1947. But just suppose, for one moment, that if this truth is the history that some state, that an alien spacecraft, or aliens themselves, came to earth outside that somewhat sleepy desert town, and involving the personnel at the Roswell Army Airfield in an UFO incident, it would be the largest and most spectacular truth in the history of the United States, or we should correct, the world. Photo above: One newspaper account of the Roswell Incident. Source: Wikipedia Commons.

One thing is for certain. There was an incident in that New Mexico town known solely for its air base and cactus. But that is where speculation and fact collide in a not too certain manner. The Army Air Force base contended that there was a crash of a secret air balloon; others think that what crashed was a craft of UFO proportions. Even headlines of the day read with suspicious tones; like that from the Roswell Daily Record, "RAAF Captures Flying Saucer on Ranch in Roswell Region."

Of course, what fueled the speculation was the original press release by the Roswell Army Air Field, which stated that what had been recovered was a "flying disk." By the afternoon, this press release had been altered. It was no longer a flying disk or saucer, but that air balloon. It would be over thirty years before the speculation would take new life, when Major Jesse Marcel, who had been on the mission to recover the craft in 1947, stated in 1978 that he believed that what had been recovered was indeed an alien spacecraft.

Roswell Dates of Interest
June 14, 1947 - Mac Brazel noticed strange debris on a ranch seventy miles north of Roswell.
July 7, 1947 - Major Jesse Marcel and a colleague from the RAAF are contacted and come to the ranch.
July 8, 1947 - Initial press release, stating that a "flying disc" had been found, later amended to the "weather balloon" account.
1978 - First interviews with Major Marcel indicate that he believed that the recovery was alien in nature, and that its recovery had been covered up. This admission caused UFO researchers to begin a study of that possibility. By the 1990s, some believed that the conspiracy was true and that not only had a spacecraft been discovered, but that alien life had also been recovered.
Mid-1990s - The United States Air Force issues two reports, explaining the weather balloon scenario, Project Mogul, and debunking the Roswell Incident as an UFO occurence.

Roswell Then

The Foster Ranch - Site, seventy miles from Roswell, of the discovery of a "flying disk," "flying saucer," or "weather balloon" by Mac Brazel that fueled the debate over the Roswell Incident. It is supposed to have crashed during a severe thunderstorm in June or July of 1947, depending on the various accounts. Later investigated and recovered by a team from the Roswell Army Airfield, including Major Jesse Marcel and another man.

The Roswell Army Airfield - Opened in 1941 at a location three miles south of Roswell, New Mexico during World War II and known as the Walker AIr Force Base in later years until it was decommissioned in 1967. The Roswell International Air Center was developed after the base closed.

Roswell Now

The Roswell International Air Center - Now a public airport, see satellite photo at top of this page, on over five thousand acres. Roswell is not a small place anymore, with over forty-five thousand residents. Sure, not huge, but larger than most of us would think.

The Roswell UFO Museum - Learn more about the incident in an American culture classic, quiche museum about the possiblity of that truth being out there. The museum holds a UFO Festival in the summer, the Roswelliam Experience. Check their website for the dates, times, and activities.

Books - A variety of books discuss the incident from various perspectives, including

Roswell

1. That UFO Museum. If the Roswell Incident ever becomes pure truth, you'll be one of the rare specimens to be able to say you've been there.

Visitor FAQ

What's There Now

The Unidentied Flying Object Museum at Roswell

Roswell Historic District Tour

Nearby Attractions
Outside of Roswell, a number of interesting sites range within one hundred miles, including Carlsbad Caverns, Bottomless Lakes State Park, the Billy the Kid Museum in Fort Sumner (about seventy miles away), and the New Mexico Space Museum in Alamogordo (about eighty miles away). A bit further west past Alamogordo is White Sands National Monument.

Lodging and Camping

There's not a lot of accommodations in Roswell, about nine motels, some of the chain variety. The city is larger than you'd think, just under 50,000 in population. Check with your favorite online travel site for details about the type of lodging you'd like.

You can camp at several local campsites, as well as at Bottomless Lake State Park, which is fourteen miles away.